ABSTRACT
Political leadership at the local level has attracted growing attention in recent years in parallel with reforms of local government and of municipal administration, as well as the debate on a shift from government to governance. 1 But this debate has been mainly focused on sole leaders, i.e.mayors or executive officers. Taking into account the power triangle of (i) mayor, (ii) municipal administration (executive officers) and (iii) council, it is surprising that councillors have so far received little by way of attention. It is amazing that case studies like the one carried out in the 1960s by Eulau and Prewitt (1973) on the 82 city councils in the San Francisco Bay area have not been replicated in recent years. The aim of this special issue is to reflect on the role and task perception, as well as the behaviour, of councillors in the changing context of local democracy.
